It doesn’t take more than a cursory glance at the NHL standings to quantify the effect that a franchise-record winning streak has had on the Blue Jackets.

The Jackets won eight consecutive games before a 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at Nationwide Arena on Saturday night. In doing so, they became a true contender for the postseason.

“We’ve given ourselves a chance to dictate our own way in,” center Mark Letestu said. “There is no chasing anybody anymore. We’re above the teams we need to be above. Now it’s in our hands and we need to win as many games as possible to stay in it.”

The Blue Jackets began the second-longest winning streak in the NHL this season with a 4-3 shootout victory over the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden on Jan. 6.

Before that game, Columbus sat in seventh place in the eight-team Metropolitan Division, with an 18-20-4 record and an uninspiring .500 record at Nationwide (9-9-2).

They were six points out of third place and the division’s final automatic playoff spot, floating at the edge of a logjam in the Metro.

But eight straight victories — four against division opponents — allowed the Blue Jackets to jump three teams.

Before Saturday’s loss, the Jackets had won five straight at home and were 26-20-4 overall. Only one point separated them from the second-place Rangers.

New York extended that lead to three points with a 7-3 victory over New Jersey yesterday at Yankee Stadium, but the Blue Jackets (51) have played three fewer games than the Rangers (54).

“We put ourselves right back into the thick of things,” center Brandon Dubinsky said. “Not that we were out of it by any stretch, but we basically made it so we control our own destiny.

“There are 31 games left in the season, and that’s a long time. But it has given us confidence, knowing that we’re right there.”

The Blue Jackets have 56 points and would likely need at least 90 — say, a 15-12-4 record over the final 31 games — to retain a playoff spot. And those logs are still jammed. Columbus has only a two-point lead over seventh-place Washington, and two points separate five teams in the Metro.

“We’re going to need a lot of luck between now and the end, but (the streak) has shown us what type of team we can be when we play the right way,” Dubinsky said.

Another streak ended

The Blue Jackets scored at least three goals in each of their victories during the eight-game streak, tying a franchise record set in 2006.

In all, they totaled 33 goals — plus two shootout winners — during the stretch. Columbus ranks ninth in the NHL in scoring with an average of 2.86 goals a game.

“We’re getting them from a lot of different areas,” Letestu said. “I don’t know if we’ll continue at this pace. Obviously, coming down the stretch teams are going to tighten up and the intensity of games is going to be quite a lot higher. But it’s nice to know the confidence is there.”

Letestu has five goals and three assists in his past eight games. His fourth line provided both goals on Saturday night — Letestu and Derek MacKenzie each had a goal and an assist.

“We have expectations for our line,” Letestu said. “We are there to provide energy, but when we do that we seem to be in the offensive zone. That gives us a chance to create some offense.”

Don’t look back

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was stunned by his removal from Saturday’s game after allowing three goals on 10 shots, but the sting didn’t linger.

“You just forget,” Bobrovsky said after participating in an optional skate yesterday. “And it doesn’t matter if it was a good or bad game. It never matters how you played yesterday.”

Bobrovsky, who had won his previous nine decisions, was replaced by Curtis McElhinney early in the second period. But Bobrovsky is expected to start tonight at Carolina.

“It’s frustrating,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s sad. But you can’t take those emotions now. There are seven more games (before the Olympic break), the most important games, probably, of the year. You always have to focus on the game tomorrow.”

Slap shots

Forward Blake Comeau, out since Jan. 9 because of a knee sprain, was activated from injured reserve and traveled with the team to Carolina. … Defensemen David Savard (illness) did not make the trip. The Blue Jackets recalled defenseman Tim Erixon from minor-league Springfield yesterday. Erixon or Cody Goloubef, recalled on Saturday, will replace Savard in the lineup tonight.

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